Elevating equipment for loads such as prefabricated floor sections

ABSTRACT

A stanchion for use in a building in which floors are constructed at ground level and subsequently raised has motor means at its upper end and lift members which are operable by the motor means and extend parallel to the stanchion. Guide means spaced along the stanchion are provided for the lift members and, in the event of any buckling bring the lift members into action to resist the buckling.

United States Patent Paladian Sept. 16, 1975 ELEVATING EQUIPMENT FOR LOADS [56] References Cited SUCH AS PREFABRICATED FLOOR UNITED STATES PATENTS SECTIONS 3,052,449 9/1962 Long et al 254/89 R Inventor: Barbu Eugeniu Paladian, Boulogne sur Seine, France Assignee: Societe dEtudes de Constructions et Travaux (SECTRA), Chambery, France; a part interest Filed: Mar. 11, 1974 Appl. N0; 450,041

Foreign Application Priority Data Mar. 14, 1973 France 73.09171 US. Cl. 254/105 lnt. Cl. B66F 1/00; E02D 21/00 Field of Search 254/89 R, 89 H, 105-1 11 Primary Examiner'Othell M. Simpson Attorney, Agent, or FirmLewis H. Eslinger; Alvin Sinderbrand [57] ABSTRACT 6 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures ELEVATING EQUIPMENT FOR LOADS SUCH AS PREFABRICATED FLOOR SECTIONS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to elevating equipment for loads such as, in particular. prefabricated floor sections constituting, after placing in situ various levels of a building.

2. Description of the Prior Art It has become more and more the practice, in the field of building construction to effect the construction of buildings starting from stanchions or other elongate members embedded in the ground, along which, by elevating means, a series of floor sections, prefabricated on the ground. are raised. The latter are placed at their required levels and made rigid with the said stanchions one after another. The disadvantage of this technique resides in the limitation in the height of the stanchions or other elongate members which limitation is necessary to avoid buckling of the stanchions when they are loaded with all the floor sections. It is thus necessary to raise a very high building as several sections, the final section constituting a foundation which is sufficiently stable to enable raising the following sections of the stanchions secured end-to-end to the preceding sections.

This fragmentation of work gives rise to various disadvantages such as the loss of time and also the precision which is required, particularly for the end-to-end joining of the stanchions.

The invention is intended to overcome these disadvantages as it proposes equipment which is simple in its conception and also straightforward when put into practice.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention there is provided in elevating equipment a vertical elongated member, drive means mounted at the top of the elongate memher, a lift member in driving engagement with the drive means and arranged to be attached to a load to be ele vated, and guide means along the length of the vertical elongate member, secured thereto at a predetermined level and sewing to guide the lift member.

In one embodiment of the invention the movable lift member referred to is constituted by at least two parts connected end-to-end by means of a connecting part while the guide means is formed from an identical part, the two being rigid with the stanchion at two different levels, the distance separting the two levels being at least equal to the length of the connecting part above referred to.

Moreover, each of the two guide means parts above referred to is constituted by an annular horizontal casing, provided with a radially-extending rod embedded in one of the sides of the stanchion and of which the internal diameter is slightly larger than the diameter of the connecting part of the two parts of the lift member above referred to. and in which there is disposed a segmental ring of which the internal diameter is on the one hand slightly larger than the diameter of the lift member and on the other hand is less than the internal diameter of the aforesaid casing. The said ring is located in the casing detachably in order to enable its retraction during passage through the casing of the connecting part of these two parts of the lift member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS An embodiment of equipment in accordance with the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation of one embodiment of elevating equipment in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary elevation of a modification of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal section, in a plane containing a lift member, of a detail of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a section oh the line 1v Iv of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Reference is made initially to FIG. 1, in which a stanchion or other vertical structural elongate member will be seen. at the top of which there is provided motor means 2 capable of driving vertically two movable lift member 3 and 4 connected to a load 5 to be raised. Guide means 6, 7, 8 and 9 are disposed along the sides of the stanchion 1 for the lift members 3 and 4, and are rigid with the stanchion at levels which are predetermined and constitute for the movable lift members 3 and 4 guides preventing movement horizontally.

Turning now to FIG. 2, which is a fragmentary view of a modification of the embodiment of FIG. I, at the level of one of the guide means. for example the means 6 shown in FIG. 1, there will be seen the stanchion l and the lift member 3. The latter comprises two parts 3a and 312 connected end-to-end by a connecting mem ber 10. The guide means, in this modification constituted by two identical parts 6a and 6b, are spaced by a distance at least equal to the length of the connecting member 10.

In operation, the drive means 2 acts on the lift members 3 and 4 so as to cause them to rise along the stanchion l. The drive means may be of the hydraulic or a screw jack type, the screw being in this latter case in the form of a lift member 3 and 4. The load 5 can thereby be raised from ground level. Its weight is then transmitted, through the intermediary of the members 3 and 4 and of the drive means 2, to the stanchion I. It will then be seen, having reference to FIG. 1, that the members 3 and 4 work in traction, the load which is applied to them being indicated by arrows A and B, whilst the stanchion 1 is subjected to a compressive force C corresponding to the weight of the load 5. This force tends to buckle the stanchion 1. The buckling of the stanchion is held within acceptable values by the presence of guide means referenced 6, 7, 8 and 9 in FIG. 1.

In practice, these guide means are disposed at predetermined levels along the length of the stanchion I. The determination of these levels is so calculated as to limit the length of sections of the stanchion which, subject separately to the load 5 will buckle within the limits imposed, particularly by the accepted standards of construction. The guide means placed at these levels subject the compressed stanchion l to constraints provided by the members 3 and 4 which resist the tendency for the stanchion to buckle. All this happens as if, at the level of each guide means, the deflection were non-existent. Buckling can thus only arise in the sections of the stanchion lying between the levels of the guide means, which buckling is admissible because of the predetermination of these levels.

FIG. 2 shows a guide member in two parts 6:! and 6b. This arrangement is necessary when, the stanchion being of considerable length, the movable lift members comprise at least two parts 3:: and 3/) connected together end-to-end by a connecting member 10. This connecting member is generally of the screw-threaded sleeve type screwed at the abutting end portions of each of the parts of a member and which has an external diameter larger than that of the said members. Now it is imperative that during the whole of the raising of the load, the guide means should be in condition to play their proper role. They must for this reason constrain the lift members so that the least deflection establishes contact between the lift members and the guide means and as a result of this that transmission of a force resisting the deflection is effected between the lift members and the compressed stanchion.

The passage through one of the guide means of the sleeve 10, taking into account the small clearance which exists between the said parts and the lift members, is only possible by increasing the diameter of the passage in the guide means, thus by taking it out of service. It is therefore necessary to ensure this operation by doubling the non-usable part by another identical part disposed in relation to the first part in such a manner that the passage of sleeve 10 occurs successively in the one and then the other. Thus, the operation of this part, at the moment of passage of the sleeve is preserved.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show one embodiment of guide means, comprising an annular casing 11 provided with a rod 12 rigid with the stanchion l, more particularly by embedding therein. The casing 11 is closed at its upper end by a cover Ila secured to the casing 11, for example by a screw thread. The cover llu and easing are provided with central openings 13 and 13a of a diameter D which is greater than the diameter D of the sleeve 10. A ring 14 is disposed within the casing 11. This ring is shown, in FIG. 4, in two segments 14a and 14b and is so constructed as to permit its extraction from the easing at the instant of the passage of the sleeve 10. The internal diameter d which it defines about the lift member 3a is slightly larger than the diameter of d of this member so as to permit sliding during the raising of the load.

Thus. when the load is raised, the lift member 3 slides in the guide means. The clearance of the two segments 14:! and 14/2 is such that they prevent any deflection, the member 3 entering into contact with the guide means and communicating to the stanchion l a force tending to oppose this deflection. By the passage of the sleeve 10, the two segments 14a and 14b of the casing 11 are extracted, the cover 1 la having previously been removed. The guide means is then inoperative and its function is effected by another guide means as described with reference -to FIG. 2. Once the sleeve 10 has passed. the segments 14:: and 1412 are returned and the cover replaced.

Equipment in accordance with the invention thus enables the use of very high stanchions without the risk of inadmissible buckling. This is advantageous particularly in the field of building construction. It is possible to increase the stanchions to the total height of the building to be constructed, then after manufacture at ground level of all necessary flooring sections, these are raised and the flooring sections are made rigid with the said stanchions at the required levels. When the load reaches the level of a guide means, the latter is removed in order to permit the progress of the flooring 5 sections along the stanchion. The construction is thus very stable because it is made rigid under the load by the flooring sections in situ, and, above the load, buckling is prevented by the guide means.

It is evident that it is possible to dispose along each of the stanchions any number of movable lift members, each movable member passing through a number of guide means depending upon the height of the construction to be produced.

The invention is of particular use in the field of building construction and civil engineering.

1 claim:

1. In elevating equipment a vertical elongate member,

drive means mounted at the top of the elongate member,

a lift member in driving engagement with the drive means and arranged to be attached to a load to be elevated, and

guide means along the length of the vertical elongate member, secured thereto at a predetermined level and serving to guide the lift member; said lift member comprising a first part,

a second part in end-to-end relationship with the first part, and

a connecting part securing the first and second parts together, and wherein said guide means comprises a first portion and a second portion identical to the first portion and spaced therefrom by a distance at least equal to the length of the connecting part of the lift member.

2. Equipment according to claim 1, wherein each of said first part and second part of the guide means comprises an annular horizontal casing, the internal diameter of which is larger than the transverse dimension of said connecting part,

a radially extending rod embedded in the vertical member, and

a segmented ring located in the casing, said ring having an internal diameter slightly greater than the transverse dimension of the lift member but less than the internal diameter of the casing, passage of the connecting part through the casing serving to remove the ring.

3. An elevating device for lifting building slabs, said device comprising a vertically elongated stanchion, at least one relatively rigid and vertically movable slab lifting member located in slightly spaced parallel relation to said stanchion and adapted to be secured to a slab to be lifted; drive means mounted on said stanchion and operatively engaged with said lifting member for driving and moving said lifting member to vertically move a slab secured thereto; and guide means rigidly mounted on said stanchion, said guide means slidably receiving and closely surrounding said lifting member to allow the lifting member to move therethrough, whereby the load of a slab connected to the lifting member is transmitted through said lifting member and drive means to the stanchion and any buckling deflection of said stanchion will cause said guide means to engage said lifting member to transmit stress thereto whereby said lifting member will reinforce said stanchion against buckling.

4. A device as defined in claim 3 including a pair of parallely extending lifting members located on opposite sides of said stanchion and separate guide rigidly connected to said stanchion and respectively slidably receiving and closely surrounding said lifting members.

5. A device as defined in claim 4 wherein said lifting members each comprises at least two threaded rods located in end to end vertical alignment with each other. and a threaded collar operatively connecting said rods;

than the internal diameter of the annular casing. 

1. In elevating equipment a vertical elongate member, drive means mounted at the top of the elongate member, a lift member in driving engagement with the drive means and arranged to be attached to a load to be elevated, and guide means alOng the length of the vertical elongate member, secured thereto at a predetermined level and serving to guide the lift member; said lift member comprising a first part, a second part in end-to-end relationship with the first part, and a connecting part securing the first and second parts together, and wherein said guide means comprises a first portion and a second portion identical to the first portion and spaced therefrom by a distance at least equal to the length of the connecting part of the lift member.
 2. Equipment according to claim 1, wherein each of said first part and second part of the guide means comprises an annular horizontal casing, the internal diameter of which is larger than the transverse dimension of said connecting part, a radially extending rod embedded in the vertical member, and a segmented ring located in the casing, said ring having an internal diameter slightly greater than the transverse dimension of the lift member but less than the internal diameter of the casing, passage of the connecting part through the casing serving to remove the ring.
 3. An elevating device for lifting building slabs, said device comprising a vertically elongated stanchion, at least one relatively rigid and vertically movable slab lifting member located in slightly spaced parallel relation to said stanchion and adapted to be secured to a slab to be lifted; drive means mounted on said stanchion and operatively engaged with said lifting member for driving and moving said lifting member to vertically move a slab secured thereto; and guide means rigidly mounted on said stanchion, said guide means slidably receiving and closely surrounding said lifting member to allow the lifting member to move therethrough, whereby the load of a slab connected to the lifting member is transmitted through said lifting member and drive means to the stanchion and any buckling deflection of said stanchion will cause said guide means to engage said lifting member to transmit stress thereto whereby said lifting member will reinforce said stanchion against buckling.
 4. A device as defined in claim 3 including a pair of parallely extending lifting members located on opposite sides of said stanchion and separate guide rigidly connected to said stanchion and respectively slidably receiving and closely surrounding said lifting members.
 5. A device as defined in claim 4 wherein said lifting members each comprises at least two threaded rods located in end to end vertical alignment with each other, and a threaded collar operatively connecting said rods; said guide means respectively comprising a pair of annular collars rigidly connected to said stanchion in vertically spaced relation at a distance which is at least equal to the length of said threaded collar.
 6. The device as defined in claim 5 wherein said annular collars each have an internal diameter slightly larger than the external diameter of said threaded collar and a segmented ring removably mounted in said annular collar and having an internal diameter slightly greater than the diameter of said threaded rods and less than the internal diameter of the annular casing. 